The relationship between oral health and sleep quality in community-dwelling older adults.

Introduction: The assessment of the sleep status of older adults and its relationship to oral health can help determine their well-being and quality of life. In accordance with this purpose, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between oral health and sleep quality in community-dwelling older adults in an urban area. Materials and Methods: The data of this study were taken from the Kayseri Elderly Health Study. The study group was administered a questionnaire form and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. A specialist dentist examined the oral health conditions (dentures use; caries; deficient, filled, natural teeth numbers; periodontal health) using the Community Periodontal Index and the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14-TR). Results: One hundred forty (38.1%) of the study group were female, and 227 (61.9%) were male. When evaluated in terms of oral hygiene, there was a statistically significant difference between those with good sleep quality and poor sleep quality in terms of mechanical interventions such as using toothpaste and an inter-dental brush, and also, OHIP-14-TR was significant. In the binary logistic regression analysis, OHIP-14-TR was found to be a significant risk factor, reflecting only the subjective interpretation of the older adults in terms of oral health-related quality of life (odds ratio: 1.069, 95.0% confidence interval: 1.043-1.096). Conclusion: This is the first epidemiologic study to examine the relationship between oral health status and sleep quality, in which many oral health indicators are evaluated together in Turkish community-dwelling older adults. OHIP-14-TR may be a useful tool to employ in sleep disorder clinics for older people.

Assessment of healthy lifestyle behaviors in traveling seasonal agricultural workers.

OBJECTIVES: The deficiencies in working conditions, fees, housing conditions, and nutritional capabilities have negative influences on health of seasonal agricultural workers. It is highly important to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors in this group of individuals. This study aimed to identify healthy lifestyle behaviors in seasonal agricultural workers. STUDY DESIGN: This is a descriptive study performed with seasonal agricultural workers. METHODS: This descriptive study was performed by 508 seasonal agricultural workers, who worked temporarily in Kayseri Province between June 2016 and November 2016. The data were collected by a sociodemographic questionnaire including items on demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, and education level. The Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale (HLBS) II was used to assess healthy lifestyle behaviors. The data from 118 seasonal agricultural workers were included to the analysis. Descriptive data are summarized as count and percent, whereas total and subdomain scores from HLBS II are summarized as min-max, standard deviation, and mean values. RESULTS: In the study population, mean age was 29.2 ± 12.1 years. Of the study population, 33.9% were women whereas 59.6% were married, and 65.2% were graduated from primary school or higher. The mean total score was 86.7 ± 7.3 ranging from 70 to 112 in HLBS II. The interpersonal support score showed highest value among subdomains. CONCLUSIONS: It was found that healthy lifestyle behaviors were moderately adopted by seasonal agricultural workers.